Ever since the Directive on Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts of 1993, the European project has been working intensively towards harmonization of contract law across all EU Member States. To date, virtually none of the many problems that have arisen have been resolved.The SECOLA Annual Conference convened in Prague in 2005 to consider the specific topic of unfair terms and to imagine ways in which the obstacles raised by this provocative issue might be overcome. In this book, which presents revised versions of the papers presented at that conference, fourteen outstanding European scholars examine basic questions about the differing conceptions of contract law in the national legal systems of the Member States, divergent legal techniques such as interpretation of contract and divergent approaches to legal reasoning, and contrasting views about the nature of the problems presented by unfair terms in contracts. Among the contentious matters discussed are the following:A { the tension between party autonomy and social justice;A { control over freedom of contract in the name of substantive fairness and efficiency;A { interpretation of contract terms;A { the intrusion of competition law into contract law;A { the disputed meanings of good faith and legitimate expectations;A { the requirement of 'plain intelligible language'; andA { characterization problems.Above all the essays ask: Can harmonization of European contract law be achieved? And if so, how? The answers offered not only clarify the stage we have arrived at in this ongoing initiative, but also identify the essential conflicts that must be understood if we are to secure meaningful regulation of contract terms at a transnational level. For these reasons the book is enormously valuable to all parties interested in this crucial component of European integration.

This second volume on the constitutional dimension of contract law explores this increasingly relevant subject in jurisdictions that are usually overlooked by mainstream scholarship in the English-speaking world. With chapters on Finland and other Nordic Countries from a comparative perspective, Spain, Japan, Somalia, Nigeria, Brazil, and Peru, the contributions presented here offer much-needed, context-informed insights on whether - and if so, why, how and to what extent - the development of contract law is being influenced by constitutional values and fundamental rights issues (or vice-versa). The book represents a valuable addition to comparative law literature on the interplay between public (i.e., constitutional) and private (i.e., contract) law by revealing the inner dynamics through which these two branches interact and (at times) inform each other, whilst also enhancing our understanding of the law's nature, function, and transformative potential at the macro, meso, and micro levels.

The sharing economy is just one of several possible expressions to designate the complex model of social and economic relationships based on the intensive use of digital technology. Constant permutations and combinations allow these relationships to be established through the intervention of a third party making traditional contractual positions flexible in such a way that today's employee is tomorrow's entrepreneur, or today's consumer is tomorrow's supplier of goods and services.The current legal framework is, in many respects, unable to accommodate such big changes and new legal regulations are required where adaptation of the existing ones proves to be inadequate. This book highlights where changes are needed and where adaptations are required, with a particular focus on the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, British and Brazilian contexts. For that, four different approaches are undertaken, namely the meta-legal, macro-legal, micro-legal and transnational approaches. The study that results from these different approaches enables readers to acquire a general view on the current legal problems arising from the sharing economy, and was a direct result of a research project of the Centre for Legal and Economic Research, at the University of Porto, funded by Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia.

Drafting Effective Contracts provides all of the tools necessary for attorneys whose livelihood centers on drafting and negotiating contracts. A favorite of professional drafters for over a decade, this encyclopedic resource contains a consistent structural analysis and a comprehensive set of drafting elements that can be used from contract to contract. Users of the Second Edition are walked through the thought process by which contracts are created, supplied with excellent sample contract provisions, and offered direction around the drafting walls that may be encountered in drafting agreements for goods and services, promissory notes, guarantees, or secured transactions. A highlight of the new edition is Litigated Language, an appendix that provides examples and analysis of actual contractual language that has been the subject of litigation and can serve as a springboard for future research and drafting endeavors.

Australia's prosperous energy and resources sector is founded on long term contracts. Long term contracts give rise to a variety of difficult conceptual and practical issues that must be confronted by commercial lawyers and energy and resource professionals on a daily basis, ranging from negotiation and documentation through to interpretation and breach. Questions as to the operation, nature, and effect of long term contracts will continue to assume central importance to Australia as a whole in circumstances where the Asian economies, particularly China, Japan, and India, are anxious for security of supply in relation to commodities. This book confronts some of the major issues under long term contracts from both legal and practical perspectives.

Using short, easy-to-read chapter, this introduction to contracts focuses on the "procedural" as well as substantive aspects of contract law and the Uniform Commercial Code. It teaches essential elements of a contract and gives examples for analysis of a Stock Purchase Agreement, Property Agreement Between Spouses, Employment Agreement, and Sample Residential Lease. Foundation of the Contract. Elements of Formation. Problems of Formation. Discharge of the Contract. Remedies When the Contract Is Not Honored. Formation of the Sales Agreement. Discharge of the Sales Agreement. Remedies under the Sales Agreement. UCC Financing Statements. Reviewing a Contract. Contract Language. CommercialPaper. For Paralegals.